Volleyball: Bengals surprise Bravettes

Most of the statistics favored Flathead, but that didn’t matter as Helena High posted a surprising 27-25, 21-25, 25-23, 17-25, 15-12 victory in Western AA volleyball action Friday at Flathead High School.

Flathead led in kills, 51-45, assists, 47-38, digs, 85-75, and aces, 16-9.

Helena High had 12 blocks, two more than the Bravettes.

“We beat them in total points,” Flathead coach Leon Wilcox added.

“Lost two sets by two and won by four and eight points. The ones we lost were tight, the ones we lost were were not.”

Lizzie Sherwood and Jessica Simmons both had 13 kills for Flathead (10-10 overall, 4-6 league).

Jenna Starkey had 19 for Helena (6-13, 3-7).

Jourdon Schultz totaled a match high eight aces for Flathead.

“Both teams played really hard,” Wilcox said.

“Offensively we didn’t have great depth. We weren’t clicking at every position. We were struggling to put the ball down.”

He said defensively, “it was tight.”

“Tiana Johnson had a great night at the net,” he said.

“Abbie O’Brien really took care of the back row for us.”

Flathead won the first matchup with Helena in three sets back on .

Flathead is back on the court today versus fourth-ranked Helena Capital at 1 p.m.

Helena High def. Flathead

27-25, 21-25, 25-23, 17-25, 15-12

Kills — Helena High 45 (Jenna Starkey 19), Flathead 51 (Lizzie Sherwood 13, Jessica Simmons 13); Blocks — Helena High 12 (Starkey 10), Flathead 10 (Tiana Johnson 4); Assists — Helena High 38 (Madison Richtmyer 36), Flathead 47 (Xio Lopp 23); Digs — Helena High 75 (Kendra Woodland 26), Flathead 85 (Abbie O’Brien 24); Aces — Helena High 9 (Starkey 3), Flathead 16 (Jourdon Schultz 8).